Yes — Les Feldick teaches that the 'departure' in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is the better rendering of the Greek apostasia and refers to the removal of the church before the Antichrist is revealed.
The King James translates the word as 'falling away,' but Les shows that the same Greek word can mean a departure from one place to another. Early English translations, including Tyndale and Geneva, rendered it as 'the departure.' In Les's teaching, this departure is the body of Christ being taken out before the man of sin appears.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 — This is the exact verse where the KJV reads 'falling away' — the Greek apostasia — which Les says is better understood as 'the departure.'
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1, Paul addresses the believers' gathering together to Christ. In verse 2 he tells them not to be shaken as if the day of Christ was already present. Then in verse 3 he writes: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” The King James Version uses the phrase “falling away.” The verse itself does not further define this word, but it places the event before the revealing of the man of sin.
Les Feldick teaches that the word translated “falling away” in the KJV is the Greek apostasia, from which we get the English word apostasy. He says many Christians, and he himself in his younger years, do not know what apostasy actually is. He then shows that the same Greek word can mean a departure of a person from another person, or a departure from one place to another. Les points to the early English translations — Tyndale, the Geneva Bible, and others — which rendered the word as “the departure.” He also mentions Dr. Kenneth Weiss, who says it is better translated “the departure,” noting that the same Greek word is translated “depart” eight times in the King James New Testament. In Les's interpretation, the “departure” is the departure of the body of Christ. The tribulation cannot begin until the church is removed. The man of sin, the Antichrist, will then be revealed. The day of Christ refers to the outcalling of the church, the rapture, whereas the day of the Lord covers the tribulation, the second coming, and the setting up of the kingdom.
Les identifies the Greek term in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as apostasia, the root of the English word apostasy. He says many Christians do not know what apostasy is, and he himself once thought it had something to do with the apostles. He explains that the word can mean a departure of a person from another person or from one place to another, which is why “falling away” is not the only possible rendering.
Les notes that the early English translators — beginning with Tyndale and continuing through the 1500s with the Geneva Bible and other translations — rendered the word as “the departure.” He also mentions Dr. Kenneth Weiss, who says the word is better translated “the departure” and points out that the same Greek word is translated “depart” eight times in the King James New Testament. The Amplified Bible's footnote also gives “the departure” for apostasia.
Les says the tribulation cannot begin until there is the departure. Before the man of sin is revealed, the body of Christ must depart: believers will hear the trumpet call and be gone in an instant. The Antichrist will not appear before the church is gone.
Les distinguishes between the day of Christ and the day of the Lord. The day of Christ is the outcalling of the church, that is, the rapture. The day of the Lord is the period that includes the tribulation, the second coming, and the setting up of the kingdom. Paul's language of “our gathering together unto Him” in verse 1 is not the language of the second coming.
The Greek Word Apostasia
Les shows that the underlying Greek word is apostasia, from which we get apostasy, and he connects it to the day of Christ as the outcalling of the church.
A Departure of Persons or Places
Les explains that the Greek word can mean departing from a person or from one place, and he says the tribulation cannot begin until the departure — the sudden removal of believers.
The Departure of the Body of Christ
Les applies the departure to the body of Christ: before the man of sin is revealed, the church must depart, and John's call “come up hither” reflects what happens after the church age ends.
Early Translations and Greek Scholarship
Les notes that Tyndale, Geneva, and other early translators rendered the word as “the departure,” and he cites Dr. Kenneth Weiss, who says the same Greek word is translated “depart” eight times in the New Testament.
Antichrist Waits for the Church's Departure
Les teaches that the Antichrist will not appear before the church is gone; the apostasy/departure of the saints must come first.
Gathering Together Unto Him
Les points out that “our gathering together unto Him” is different from second-coming language; at the rapture believers are gathered unto Christ.
The Rapture Secret Most Christians Miss — 1 Corinthians 15:51
1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and this is just another extension of this revelation of this part of the mystery, which he now refers to as being caught up. Now I've had a lot of people try to corner me by saying, well lest the word rapture isn't in my Bible. Of course it isn't, I know that.
Amplified Bible Footnote on 'Departure'
Les shows that the Amplified Bible's footnote supplies “the departure” for apostasia, reading the verse as requiring a departure before the day of the Antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:1: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
Paul says the day in view is connected with being gathered together unto Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:2: That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
This is the “day of Christ” that the Thessalonians feared had already come.
2 Thessalonians 2:3: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
This is the key verse where “falling away” appears and where Les sees the “departure” of the church.
Les says yes — the Greek word is apostasia, from which we get the English word apostasy. He also explains that the same Greek word can mean a departure from one place to another, which changes how the verse is read.
Yes. Les teaches that the departure is the departure of the body of Christ, the church. Before the man of sin is revealed, believers will be taken out in an instant.
According to Les, the man of sin will be revealed after the apostasy/departure. The tribulation cannot begin until the departure of the church takes place.
Watch the Teaching: Who Holds Back the Antichrist? The Restrainer Removed.